IMPLEMENTATION OF SEMESTER SYSTEM IN INDIA
India is a country, once upon a time well known or its rich heritage, culture, peace & harmony. Indians were famous for their knowledge, bravery, truthfulness, & honesty. Today, it may sound like a fairy tale because India has become notorious for its exploding population, alarming number crimes, violence, communal riots, bloodshed, etc. Indians today are considered as frauds, corrupt & inferior in quality. One of the major causes which has resulted in such a situation is nothing but the faulty education system prevailing in the country. In contrast, the advanced countries have a superior educational setup which has resulted in their overall development. One such system followed by all leading institutes is the ‘Semester System’.
“Pardon me, but the annual examination system in India is completely useless. We have to scrap it & go to semester system.” These were the words o a Planning Commission member of the National Vice-Chancellors’ Meeting. So here the question that arises is as to what is Semester System. The word ‘semester’ is derived from the Latin word ‘semesteris’ which means ‘half year’. Therefore, semester is a half year course or university term in which examinations are conducted at the end of every six months.
The Semester System will improve the quality of education for the college students throughout the country. It is considered advantageous because of the depth of study it allows. There is a great span o time for study, for the absorption of course materials, for preparation, for evaluation, for subject coverage, for more complete textbook coverage & more student-faculty interaction. The actual process of learning is also more methodical. Each topic in the syllabus is allotted a learning time. The student learns not just by taking down notes during a lecture, he has to do self-study, going to the library, browsing the internet & preparing or seminars & presentations. This results in more comprehensive learning of the topic in hand.
For the benefit of the students, teachers & overall development of education, this system should be adopted. Teachers, the best preachers are totally in support of it. It saves students from last minute preparations. This is because the lessons remain fresh in their minds as they are made to study smaller chunks part by part in a sequential pattern. This is the best method as per education psychology. There will be better attendance as all students have to attend classes regularly. Missing out even one class will not be affordable. This will drastically lower the number o students bunking classes. The semester system is no doubt a boon because the syllabus will be comprehensive & interesting. Hence the rate of suicides will come down drastically because of terrific results.
Students who pass under this system are more employable & marketable as their knowledge content is very high. Today, the ‘buzz world’ is ‘knowledge based’ & the semester system helps in creating that. Academicians feel that students would become more knowledgeable & ace the growing challenges o the present day. Due to continuous evaluation, a highly competitive & professional atmosphere prevails.Though semester system is successfully introduced in post-graduate levels, some universities are still apprehensive of bringing graduate & under-graduate education under its ambit. The reasons are many. Some universities themselves are opposing it on the grounds that lakhs of papers have to be evaluated every time drafting teachers from all colleges. They are reluctant arguing that academics would take a back seat with teachers totally involved in evaluation. Moreover, they feel that without improving the infrastructure or recruiting faculty, such systems cannot bring any qualitative change.
A section of students however is not in favour of the semester system arguing that it would put additional financial burden on them as they have to pay the fee twice. Some feel that they will lose the real charm of college life. Things will become so hectic that round the year, they are only studying or the exams. Further, the number of holidays will become less. So, they cannot enjoy the feasts & festivities. They will hardly get time to relax because as they finish one semester, another will come hovering over their heads.
Inspite of such petty complaints raised against the semester system, it is really beneficial to the education system o a country like India, which is on the path of development. While countries like U.K. & U.S.A. can implement this system & reap its fruits, then why not India?? For us, it is just a matter of balancing a few things & when it comes to a better educational module, the minor defects can be sorted out & implemented all over the country, thereby, increasing the pace o overall development in the near future.
There is a saying that only a child’s life is real life. But the precious childhood is snatched from the innocents & they are compelled to work. Child labour means, “employment of children who have not attained the minimum age of admission to employment, which is fourteen or countries whose economic & educational facilities are in insuffeciently developed, & eighteen or hazardous occupations as per the conventions o International Labour Organization”.
Child labour is considered as a national degradation. Elimination of child labour continues to be an area of great concern & article of faith or successive governments. Existing laws prohibit the employment o children below 14 years of age in factories, mines & hazardous working conditions.
